The Note: Trump's delayed Charlottesville condemnation may be a Band-Aid on a shotgun wound

Polls also open today for two special elections.

By
Veronica Stracqualursi
August 15, 2017, 7:12 AM ET
4 min read

— -- WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

  • It's primary day in Alabama: Sen. Luther Strange, who has the president's endorsement, faces two other GOP candidates -- Roy Moore and Mo Brooks -- in a tough primary for Jeff Sessions' seat.
  • Republican voters head to the polls today in Utah's 3rd Congressional District as they make their pick to replace former House Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz. Democrats already nominated their candidate, Kathie Allen, at their party's convention in June.
  • Infrastructure day at Trump Tower, President Donald Trump is at his home in New York City and will hold a discussion, sign an executive order and deliver a statement on infrastructure projects from his Manhattan office.
  • Vice President Mike Pence is in Buenos Aires and will hold a news conference later with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri.

    • THE TAKE with ABC News' MaryAlice Parks

    The past three days will likely go down in the history of this presidency if for no other reason than creating a stark and poignant point of comparison. From here on out, every time the president gives a knee-jerk reaction or uses his unique brand of gut-punching language, there will be this question: How does his latest jab measure up to what he said about white supremacists after Charlottesville? It took two days for President Donald Trump to explicitly condemn white nationalists, but only an hour for him to lambaste a CEO who publicly registered his grievances with him. Eventually, he called organized white extremists carrying torches "repugnant" but, on the same day, labeled "fake news" critical of him the result of "truly bad people" too. The president may have stopped some political bleeding with his remarks but deep wounds and anxieties remain. Many believe he has a unique responsibility to further stamp down on white extremists who, arguably, have felt emboldened by some of his language and campaigned on his behalf. His next moves can either stoke or temper rising tensions and the pressure for him to cut White House strategist Steve Bannon, often aligned with the so-called alt-right, is only mounting.

    QUOTE OF THE DAY

    "In the wake of this weekend's violence, our nation has some soul-searching to do. It is not a time to say ‘What about' but to seriously ask ourselves, ‘What now?'" -- Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch

    NEED TO READ with ABC News' Daksha Sthipam

    Lawmakers slam Trump for delay in denouncing hate groups by name. After bipartisan criticism of his response to the unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia, the president publicly condemned white supremacists and other hate groups by name for the first time since violence broke out over the weekend. But a significant number of lawmakers pushed back, criticizing Trump's delayed response in condemning these groups. http://abcn.ws/2wKpTtq

    3 CEOs quit Trump's manufacturing council amid backlash over Charlottesville response. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced Monday that he would resign from President Donald Trump's American Manufacturing Council -- becoming the third CEO to do so in a day -- as the president dealt with criticism over how he responded to a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend. http://abcn.ws/2uK2I0G

    Defense Secretary Mattis: "We'll take out" North Korean missiles to Guam. Amid heightening rhetoric over an attack on the U.S. island territory of Guam, Secretary of Defense James Mattis told reporters Monday that his department will know "within moments" where a North Korean missile is headed, were it to be launched. Mattis also cautioned that "we'll take it out" if the missile is heading toward the U.S. territory off the coast of the Philippines. http://abcn.ws/2w8ybx6

    Trump says he's seriously considering pardoning former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "I am seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio," Trump said Sunday in an interview with Fox News from in Bedminster, New Jersey. Arpaio, a former sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County, was found guilty of ignoring a court order to stop detaining suspected undocumented immigrants. http://abcn.ws/2w7htyi

    Bannon in limbo as Trump faces growing calls for the strategist's ouster. The New York Times

    Trump not planning on Charlottesville trip; "Why the hell would we do that?" aides say. The Daily Beast

    Sen. Chuck Grassley not expecting imminent Supreme Court vacancy. Reuters

    Scoop: Sheldon Adelson disavows campaign against H.R. McMaster. Axios

    The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.